| However, without justifying behavior of Kazakh authorities we need to
understand the broader scope and for that we need to listen to
interview of Ruzakhunov after his return to Kyrgyzstan. Here is the
link to that interview video https://youtu.be/h1PR6XN9FGg, but since
most readers of this blog don't speak Russian, let me do a quick recap.
Vikram basically says that he was in Kazakhstan with his performances,
but, as riots started, he, against the advise of his Kazakh friends to
stay low in his apartment in Kazakhstan, decided to head home from
Almaty. He actually flew to Almaty from Bishkek on the way there, but
since airport was blocked for passenger travel he decided to hire a
taxi (private car) to go back home. He was stopped by military
checkpoint not far from border and detained for questioning. Vikram
says that he got his bruises not in detention cell or in police
department office, but when he was detained by military. He also said
that this statement "I was unemployed in Kyrgyzstan and some people
called me and offered me 90K tenge ($200) to participate in the
meetings" he told police based on advice of his cellmates, since they
said, as result of it they will deport you quickly to Kyrgyzstan, which
happened promptly after him admitting his "crime". Now, considering
that for taking part in protests there were indeed many unemployed in
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan that were hired to come to
Kazakhstan and take part in protests in Southern Kazakhstan region that
borders with these countries, could we give a bit of leeway to Kazakh
authorities for showing excessive eagerness in dealing with these
"imports"? Similar story, btw, happened during Ukrainian Maidan of 2014 when thousands of unemployed people from Western Ukraine were brought to Kiev to create crowd effect on the Independence square - the heart of protests. When sharp shooters from Georgia brought in by Maidan organizers killed round 100 protesters to give Maidan victory a final push, blaming shooting on then president Yanukovich, nationalist propaganda named murdered protesters "nebesna sotnia" (heavenly hundred) while Kievites called them "nemestna skotnia" (out-of-town cattle). So what's the lesson of this story? The lesson here is
that we need to look at the situation in a broader way, trying to
understand all the context and motivation for actions on both sides of
the story. |